Mahatma Gandhi- photo credit http://www.thefamouspeople.com
“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest…” – Mahatma Gandhi
To which my friend Meredith responded, “Yes, living a lie, been there, done that. lol”
I could not agree with her more, and yet I know so many of my fellow planet dwellers feel trapped in this thing they call life. When you ask some people how they are, and the response is , “same ol’, same ol’ “… what a downer, right?
Apathy will kill the soul for sure, but admitting the lie, whether white lie or life lie, is the first step. The little thing we call Awareness…
I remember years ago when my father took me to see the movie Gandhi. Comical at best– the little Indian girl in South America is the only person under fifty in the movie theater. I was WAY too young to sit through this lord knows how long of a movie, but he was so proud to take me; To show me his homeland (yes, my dad is from India- who would have thunk it, right?) even if just through a movie screen. The nostalgia filled his eyes, and perhaps a little smudge of sadness for the life he now had. I very much think my father felt he was living a lie.
Let me explain… I just read this powerful little book, “Under Saturn’s shadow; the wounding and healing of men”. (Thanks Sao!) The author talks about how men (and now in our modern times, many of us women) have embraced the role of provider to the point of, yes, living not just a lie, but a futile life. I fell into that trap many moons ago, and I catch myself at times trying to place the responsibility and heaviness of a task unto my husband. The reminder that this is ingrained programming is a must!
In reading the book I was able to see the ways in which we take our responsibilities too seriously and we forget to live. I think my dad forgot to live. I don’t blame him. He did what he thought was right. He had more children than he knew what to do with (yes, I’m pretty sure we drove him crazy, all five of us!), was in a marriage that did not fulfill him, and was in a foreign land where they didn’t even begin to attempt to pronounce his name, and we won’t even talk about the lack of spices. Lonely, to say the least.
Yet, there is this beautiful Divine Masculine quality of providing, and I find that men who are able to provide for their families feel a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. I also find that a lot of the women (not all, I get it) who feel they have to provide, have a tinge (if not a turd load) of resentment. Ah, yes, grasshopper, another opportunity to embrace Sacred Balance with this Divine Masculine quality of providing for ourselves and our loved ones.
I learned from my parents. I learned what to do and what not to do. But in this thing they call life, one thing I know for sure… if everyone else is doing it, then there’s a good chance, I should question it, and do the opposite! And that my friends, is how I live.
Like Meredith, been there done that, and now I’m brought to tears (yep, I’m a crier) every time I think about how I live what I know to be Truth. And I wonder… if we live our truth with the intention to provide responsibly, can we can have our cake & eat it too? I think so. Patience, grasshopper, keep at it!
Enjoy your (gluten-free) cake!
Blessings,
Asha
The Spirit Midwife
www.birthofyourlife.com
